CN109556339B

CN109556339B - Refrigerator having a storage chamber and an evaporator chamber

Info

Publication number: CN109556339B
Application number: CN201811071477.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: B·普夫洛姆; N·利恩戈德; U·克里格斯曼; C·海因
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Current assignee: BSH Hausgeraete GmbH
Priority date: 2017-09-25
Filing date: 2018-09-14
Publication date: 2023-10-03
Anticipated expiration: 2038-09-14
Also published as: EP3460365A1; DE102017216943A1; CN109556339A

Abstract

In a refrigerator having at least one storage chamber (13), an evaporator chamber (11) and a ventilation device (22) arranged on a channel (21) between the storage chamber (13) and the evaporator chamber (11) and having an axis of rotation (23) and an evaporator (1) arranged in the evaporator chamber (11), an arcuate refrigerant line (2) of the evaporator (1) extends around the axis of rotation (23).

Description

Refrigerator having a storage chamber and an evaporator chamber

Technical Field

The invention relates to a refrigeration device having a storage compartment and an evaporator compartment separated from the storage compartment. In such a refrigerator, ventilation means are mainly arranged in the passage between the storage compartment and the evaporator compartment in order to drive the air exchange between said compartments. The evaporator is mainly a sheet evaporator of almost cuboid shape with lamellae parallel to each other, which guide the air flow through the sheet evaporator from one narrow face of the cuboid to the other narrow face.

Background

The size of the channels is typically significantly smaller than the length of the narrow faces on the inflow side and outflow side. This results in that some parts of the evaporator are in a more flow-friendly position with respect to the channels than others and correspondingly flow through more strongly. The strong flow in the flow-technically advantageous sections results in the air being cooled there to a lower intensity than in the less advantageous sections. The presence of differently warmed air streams mixed across the evaporator after passage negatively affects the efficiency of the evaporator.

The more pronounced the flow-through difference between the different parts of the evaporator, the closer the channel is to the nearest narrow face of the inflow side or outflow side of the evaporator. Although the flow difference can be reduced by increasing the distance between the evaporator and the channel, this also results in a large volume of the evaporator chamber, with the result that the available volume of the storage chamber is lost for a given external size of the refrigeration appliance.

Disclosure of Invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a refrigeration device in which a uniform through-flow of the evaporator over its entire cross section can be achieved in a compact evaporator chamber.

This object is achieved in a refrigeration device having at least one storage space, an evaporator space, and a ventilation device arranged on a channel between the storage space and the evaporator space and having an axis of rotation, and an evaporator arranged in the evaporator space, the arcuate refrigerant line of the evaporator extending about the axis of rotation. This orientation of the refrigerant tubes achieves that the air flows radially forward from or towards the channels in the evaporator chamber and is traversed here with the refrigerant tubes remaining equal over the entire length of their arc, so that the air flow and cooling in each part of the cross section of the evaporator are almost identical.

The arc may be an arc of a circle over at least a portion of its length, the axis of rotation extending in the centre of said arc of circle.

The evaporator can have lamellae in a known manner in order to increase the surface available for heat exchange. The lamellae should protrude from the refrigerant channels in a radial direction in order to guide air in a radial direction forward from the channels or towards the channels.

According to a first configuration, the sheet comprises at least one plate extending helically around one of the refrigerant tubes. The plate may have a continuous edge on its edge facing away from the refrigerant line; the edge facing the refrigerant line is then typically accordion-folded so that it can be fixed to the refrigerant line over its entire length. Alternatively, the plate may be grooved on its edge facing away from the refrigerant conduit so as to construct a plurality of tongues between the slots, which tongues protrude radially from the refrigerant conduit in different directions when the plate is fixed to the refrigerant conduit.

According to a second configuration, two refrigerant tubes spaced apart along the axis of rotation are connected by a foil. Thus, a self-rigid, non-deformable evaporator block can be constructed.

In a conventional rectangular parallelepiped-shaped evaporator, the refrigerant lines extending transversely to the flow direction are arranged at different positions both in the flow direction and transversely thereto. Accordingly, the evaporator according to the invention also has refrigerant lines which are spaced apart transversely to the flow direction, i.e. radially to the axis of rotation. The refrigerant tube extends throughout the multi-lumen tube, in particular the microchannel multi-lumen tube, without impeding flow.

In order to convey air, which passes through different inlet channels into the evaporator chamber, through the evaporator to an outlet channel which is arcuately surrounded by the refrigerant lines in the refrigeration appliance or conversely to distribute air, which passes through an inlet channel which is arcuately surrounded by the refrigerant lines into the evaporator chamber, to outlet openings which are spaced apart from one another, the refrigerant lines should extend over an angle of at least 90 ° about the axis of rotation.

For manufacturing reasons it is preferred that the refrigerant conduit extends over an angle of not more than 180 ° around the rotation axis. If it is desired to surround the rotation axis at an angle of more than 180 ° in the case of a vaporizer consisting of a plurality of vaporizer modules.

In a domestic refrigeration appliance, the storage compartment and the evaporator compartment are arranged in a common housing. The storage space can here adjoin a door of the housing, while the evaporator space adjoins a rear wall of the housing opposite the door. The channels are then typically located in a partition wall parallel to the back wall between the evaporator chamber and the storage chamber.

The air channels required for channel replenishment for forming a closed air circulation circuit between the storage chamber and the evaporator chamber can extend on the side wall of the housing from the front end facing the door to the evaporator chamber in order to generate an air flow in the storage chamber which extends substantially in the depth direction and uniformly sweeps through the storage chamber and ensures adequate cooling in the storage chamber, in particular in the vicinity of the door.

This configuration in particular achieves uniform cooling of the pull-out box arranged between the side wall and the air channel of the side wall, by guiding the air between the front end of the air channel and the channel on the back of the storage compartment through the pull-out box itself, or by providing a gap between the side wall of the pull-out box and the side wall of the housing, respectively, in which the air between the front end of the air channel and the channel can circulate.

To construct the air channel and evaporator chamber, a liner is fitted into the housing, wherein the channel is constructed in a back wall plate of the liner extending between the chambers, the liner further comprising a side wall extending between the air channel and the storage chamber.

Drawings

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings:

fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an evaporator according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a microchannel tube that may be used in an evaporator;

fig. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a housing of a refrigeration appliance having an evaporator according to a first configuration of the invention;

fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the refrigerator case of fig. 3 taken along the depth direction;

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the refrigeration appliance housing taken along the plane V-V from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 in a second configuration according to the invention; and

fig. 7 shows a cross-sectional view similar to fig. 3 according to a third configuration of the invention.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an evaporator 1 which can be used in a refrigeration appliance according to the invention. The evaporator 1 comprises a plurality of curved refrigerant lines 2, wherein a multi-lumen tube, in particular a microchannel tube 3 made of aluminum, extends in each case in one piece side by side relationship. The bending axis 4 is the same for all the curved refrigerant tubes 2 or microchannel tubes 3 and is perpendicular to the broad face of the microchannel tubes 3. The microchannel tubes 3 are offset from one another in the direction of the bending axis 4 and are connected one to the other by an arc 5, which is centered in each case on an axis 6 extending radially relative to the bending axis 4.

Welded to the two free ends of the microchannel tubes 3 are distributors 7 extending in the radial direction, which connect the refrigerant tubes 2 extending side by side in the microchannel tubes 3 in parallel and are supplied with refrigerant. The tubes 3 are furthermore connected to one another by webs 8 which extend in the direction of the bending axis 4 and relative thereto and which each have two mutually opposite edges 9 extending in the radial direction, which edges are welded to the broad face of the microchannel tube 3.

The sheet 8 is typically composed of aluminium as the tube 3; the lamellae may be provided with a solder layer at least at their edges 9, which melts at a lower temperature than aluminum, so that soldering may take place in that the finished microchannel tubes 3 are heated together with lamellae 8 placed between them in a furnace to the melting temperature of the solder.

Fig. 2 shows a possible cross section of a microchannel tube 3. As can be seen in the left half of the drawing, a large number of refrigerant tubes 2 of the same compact cross section can extend side by side along the microchannel tubes 3. In order to increase the surface available for heat exchange, ribs 10 are formed on the inner side of the refrigerant line 2, as shown in the middle and right part of fig. 2, which protrude into the free cross section of the refrigerant line 2.

Fig. 3 shows a partial sectional view of the housing of the refrigeration device according to the invention, taken along a plane which extends vertically and in the width direction of the housing through the evaporator chamber 11 of the housing and is indicated by III-III in fig. 4. The housing comprises an inner container 12 defining the boundaries of an evaporator chamber 11 and a storage chamber 13 (see fig. 4), and an insulating layer 14 surrounding the inner container 12. The evaporator 1 can be seen in a top view in the evaporator chamber 11. The back wall plate 15 extends behind the evaporator 1 parallel to the sectional plane between the evaporator chamber 11 and the storage chamber 13. Two L-shaped ribs 16 extend from the back wall plate 15 through the sectional plane of fig. 3 up to the back wall 17 of the inner container 12 (see fig. 4). The rib 16 has a horizontal leg 18 that extends up to a side wall 19 of the housing or inner container 12. The back wall plate 15 also reaches above the legs 18 up to the side walls 19, and a channel 20 is provided between the back wall plate 15 and the side walls 19 below the legs 18.

The vertical legs 26 of the ribs 16 can be connected to one another by ribs which start from the upper edge of the back wall plate 15 and extend as far as the back wall 17 of the housing in order to close the evaporator chamber 11 upwards. In the configuration shown here, the evaporator chamber 11 is closed up by the rear edge region of the cooling product rack 27, which divides the storage chamber 13 into upper and lower compartments 28, 29.

A circular channel 21 is formed centrally in the back wall plate 15. An axial ventilation device 22 is fitted in the channel 21. The direction of operation of the axial ventilation 22 is selected in this case such that it draws in air through the duct 20 and blows it out through the duct 21 into the storage compartment 14. The sucked air thus flows from both sides out of the channel 20 onto the evaporator 1, from which the lamellae 8 (shown by dashed lines in fig. 3) are deflected upwards in the direction of the axial ventilation 22 and the channel 21 and from the axial ventilation 22 back through the channel 21 into the lower compartment 29 of the storage compartment 13.

In the illustration of fig. 3, the bending axis 4 of the microchannel tube 3 coincides with the rotation axis 23 of the ventilation device 22. The side edge regions 24 of the evaporator 1 are better for the air flow proceeding from the channel 20 than the middle region 25 of the evaporator 1 and can be reached with a smaller change in the flow direction. In order to enhance the throughflow of the intermediate region 25, the bending axis 4 can be positioned above the rotation axis 23 differently from the illustration of fig. 3. By thus bringing the intermediate region 25 of the evaporator 1 closer to the rotation axis 23 than the side regions 24, said intermediate region is subjected to a stronger suction force by the ventilation device 22, so that the air flow per free cross-sectional area in the intermediate region 25 can be matched to the air flow per free cross-sectional area of the edge regions 24.

The lamellae 8 are oriented in fig. 3 precisely radially with respect to the axis of rotation 23 and with respect to the bending axis 4, i.e. straight lines which extend the lamellae 8 and intersect one another on the axes 4, 23. If the rotation axis 23 and the bending axis 4 do not coincide as described before, the lamella 8 is preferably oriented radially with respect to the bending axis 4.

A recess 30 is provided in the bottom of the evaporator chamber to collect the melt water which is discharged from the evaporator 1 when it is defrosted. The melt water passes from the evaporator chamber 11 through a channel 31 extending through the insulating layer 14 from the deepest point of the recess 30 into the outside, preferably into an evaporation shell in a machine chamber 32 arranged below the evaporator chamber 11 in the housing.

Fig. 4 shows a sectional view of the storage chamber 13 and the evaporator chamber 11 taken along the rotation axis 23 in the depth direction of the housing. The axial ventilation device 22 is arranged in a short pipe connection 33 which protrudes from the channel 21 into the storage space 13. Instead of the axial ventilation 22, a radial ventilation can also be arranged on the channel 21 in the evaporator chamber 11, which radial ventilation sucks in through the channel 20 and the sucked-in air is discharged in the radial direction forward through the evaporator 1.

The hollow side wall 34 extends from the side edge of the back wall plate 15 forward along the side wall 19 of the housing until near the open front side 35 of the housing, which is normally closed by a door in operation. The side wall 34 may be injection molded as an integral liner with the back wall panel 15 or combined with the back wall panel 15 into a liner assembly that is pushed into the inner container 12 from the front side 35 when the refrigerator is assembled.

In the pushed-in state, the side walls 34 together with the adjacent side walls 19 of the housing each delimit an air channel 36 which extends from an inlet 37 on the front end to the channel 20 of the back wall plate 11. The heat flow from the environment to the storage space 13 is generally particularly strong near the front end, since only the magnetic seal generally isolates the storage space 13 from the environment. Air heated at the magnetic seal may be drawn in through the air passage 36 and cooled as it passes through the evaporator 1; it is thereby possible to prevent the diffusion of heat passing through the magnetic seal into the storage chamber 13 and to limit the temperature drop between the hot zone near the door of the storage chamber 13 and the cold zone near the back wall.

The inlets 37 may each be provided with a grille, as shown in fig. 4, in order to prevent foreign bodies from entering into the air passage 36.

Fig. 5 shows a section through the housing of the refrigeration device along a plane parallel to the plane III-III, which is shown as V-V in fig. 4. In this sectional view, it is evident that the air channel 36 extends on both side walls 19 of the housing, and the side walls 34 separate the air channel 36 from the storage compartment 13.

The microchannel tubes 3 of the evaporator 1 should on the one hand be as wide as possible, so that the air flowing through the evaporator circulates over as long a path as possible and is cooled there; on the other hand, the smaller the flexibility of the microchannel tube 3 about the bending axis 4 perpendicular to its broad face, the wider the microchannel tube 3. In order to prevent excessive bending of the microchannel tubes 3 causing problems in the manufacture of the evaporator 1 and at the same time ensuring adequate cooling of the air in its path, it is advantageous for this purpose that two evaporators 1,1' as shown in fig. 6 are arranged in series in the path of the air through the evaporator chamber 11. Preferably, the two evaporators 1,1' are concentric, that is to say arranged with mutually coincident bending axes 4.

In order to ensure a uniform throughflow of the two evaporators 1,1' over their entire through-cross section, they are spread apart by the same angle α about the bending axis 4. As in the case of fig. 3, this angle is measured to be between 90 ° and 180 °.

Each microchannel tube 2 'of the outer evaporator 1' is longer than the tube 2 of the inner evaporator 1, which provides space for a greater number of lamellae 8 than the tube 2. By choosing the spacing between the lamellae 8, measured along circular arcs of the tubes 2,2' concentric with respect to the axis 4, for example the neutral axis, to be identical in the case of two evaporators 1,1', it is possible to ensure a high efficiency of the heat exchange in the outer evaporator 1', while at the same time avoiding that the air flow in the inner evaporator is negatively affected by too small a spacing between the ends of the lamellae 8 close to the axis.

In the configuration of fig. 6, the evaporators 1,1' are also connected in series with respect to the flow of refrigerant; the tube section 38 extends radially between the two distributors 7,7 'of the evaporator 1,1'. The injection point opens into the distributor 7 via a capillary tube 39 and is formed at a further distributor 7 of the internal evaporator 1, so that the refrigerant and the air flow through the two evaporators 1,1' in opposite directions.

In the configuration of fig. 7, the shell and liner of the refrigerator are identical to those shown in fig. 3 or 6. The refrigerant line 2 "of the evaporator 1" is formed by a cylindrical tube which extends arcuately about the bending axis 4 and the rotational axis 23 of the ventilation device 22. The refrigerant lines 2 "are connected in series here by an arc 5" and extend with different radii around the axis 4. The further curved refrigerant lines may be arranged offset from one another along the axis 4. Each refrigerant line 2 "is associated with a strip-shaped web 8" which is welded to the refrigerant line 2 "on its longitudinal edges and protrudes radially around from the refrigerant line 2".

List of reference numerals

1,1' evaporator

2,2' refrigerant pipeline

3,3' microchannel tube

4. Bending axis

5, 5' arc

6. Foam cross bar

7,7' dispenser

8, 8' sheet

9. Edge of edge

10. Ribs

11. Evaporator chamber

12. Inner container

13. Storage room

14. Heat insulation layer

15. Back wall board

16. Ribs

17. Back wall

18 Horizontal leg (of rib 16)

19. Side wall

20. Channel

21. Channel

22. Axial ventilation device

23. Axis of rotation

24 Side edge region (of evaporator 1)

25 Intermediate zone (of evaporator 1)

26 Vertical leg (of rib 16)

27. Cooling object shelf

28. Upper grid chamber

29. Lower grid chamber

30. Recess portion

31. Channel

32. Machine room

33. Pipe joint

34. Side wall

35. Front side

36. Air passage

37. An inlet

38. Pipe section

39. Capillary tube.

Claims

1. A refrigeration appliance having at least one storage chamber (13), an evaporator chamber (11) and a ventilation device (22) with an axis of rotation (23) arranged on a channel (21) between the storage chamber (13) and the evaporator chamber (11) and an evaporator (1) arranged in the evaporator chamber (11), characterized in that the evaporator (1) has an arcuate refrigerant line (2) extending around the axis of rotation (23); refrigerant tubes (2) spaced apart in a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis extend in a common multi-lumen tube (3).

2. A refrigerator according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaporator (1) has lamellae (8, 8 ") that protrude in a radial direction from the refrigerant conduit (2).

3. A refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that the sheet (8 ") comprises at least one plate extending helically around one of the refrigerant tubes (2").

4. A refrigerator according to claim 2, characterized in that two refrigerant tubes (2) spaced apart along the rotation axis are connected by the foil (8).

5. A refrigerator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the refrigerant conduit (2) extends over an angle of at least 90 ° around the rotation axis (23).

6. A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the refrigerant conduit (2) extends over an angle of maximally 180 ° around the rotation axis (23).

7. A refrigerator according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the storage chamber (13) and the evaporator chamber (11) are arranged in a common housing, the storage chamber (13) being adjacent to a door of the housing, the evaporator chamber (11) being adjacent to a back wall (17) of the housing opposite the door.

8. A refrigerator according to claim 7, characterized in that an air channel (36) extends on a side wall (19) of the housing from towards the front end of the door to the evaporator chamber (11).

9. A refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the air channels (36) extend on both sides of the pull-out box.

10. A refrigerator according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that a liner is fitted into the housing, the channel (21) being constructed in a back wall plate (15) of the liner extending between the storage chamber (13) and the evaporator chamber (11), the liner further comprising a side wall (34) extending between the air channel (36) and the storage chamber (13).